Philosophy: epistemology and theory of knowledge Books
Steiner Books Leitsätze Leading Thoughts
Book Synopsis
£47.85
Floris Books The Caretakers of the Cosmos: Living Responsibly
Book SynopsisWhy are we here? Human beings have asked themselves this question for centuries. Modern science largely argues that human beings are chance products of a purposeless universe, but other traditions believe humanity has an essential role and responsibility in creation.Lachman brings together many strands of esoteric, spiritual and philosophical thought to form a counter-argument to the nihilism that permeates the twenty-first century. Offering a radical alternative to postmodern apathy, he argues that we humans are the caretakers of the universe, entrusted with a daunting task: that of healing and repairing creation itself.This is an important book from a key thinker of our time, addressing some of the most urgent questions facing humanity.Trade Review'A worthy and important book.'-- David Taylor, Psychical Studies: The Journal of the Unitarian Society for Psychical Studies'This is a cracking book on a cracking subject by a cracking author.'-- Lynn Picknett, Magonia Review of Books'A compelling alternate vision in which the human spirit and the material world are both fully real and fully significant. Moreover, Lachman brilliantly argues that human beings have a significant role to play in bringing the entire world -- even the entire cosmos -- to completion and creative fruition... This is one of the most stimulating and significant books on the subject in years. The Caretakers of the Cosmos is an essential work for all who are curious about what makes us uniquely human, and about how we can all participate, each in our own way, in the creation of a fuller and more satisfying world.'-- David Fideler, Parabola magazine'[Lachman's] views are set out lucidly, engagingly, tentatively and accompanied by a cloud of illustrious witnesses from the Hermetic tradition and the the Kabbalah, to Blake and Goethe through to Berdyaev and Cassirer (amongst many others).'-- Nicholas Colloff, Golgonooza blog'I found Lachmans user friendly treatment refreshing. Although the caretaker theme is common in enlightened circles such comprehensive expositions in this type of evolutionary context are rarer. Lachman's depth of reading and research are admirable, and he weaves the story well, developing what is becoming increasingly obvious that all of human history reflects the evolution of consciousness.'-- Martin Lockley, Scientific and Medical Network Review'This is a book not short of accessibility, guts and wry, dry humour Caretakers of the Cosmos is about our relationship to each other, the planet and the Universe which superficially might sound rather New Age. But as I hope you might realise by now, this book could hardly be further from such glib platitudes. It's about consciousness, quantum physics, intention and engagement. In other words about the acceptance of a distinct role and a conscious commitment to it. If it all sounds like hard work, this might be the moment to remember that this relationship is about joy. But most - and to some of us, best - of all, is this books insistence on the 'fallacy of [human] insignificance. And indeed this is a far from insignificant book.'-- Lynn Picknett, Magonia Review of Books'Gary Lachman offers the reader a fascinating insight into esoteric and spiritual traditions that state that the world and the cosmos are not without purpose and that humanity has an essential role to play A noble and ambitious perspective.'-- Griet Hellinckx, Erziehungskunst
£17.00
Verso Books Revolutionary Mathematics: Artificial
Book SynopsisOur finances, politics, media, opportunities, information, shopping and knowledge production are mediated through algorithms and their statistical approaches to knowledge; increasingly, these methods form the organizational backbone of contemporary capitalism. Revolutionary Mathematics traces the revolution in statistics and probability that has quietly underwritten the explosion of machine learning, big data and predictive algorithms that now decide many aspects of our lives. Exploring shifts in the philosophical understanding of probability in the late twentieth century, Joque shows how this was not merely a technical change but a wholesale philosophical transformation in the production of knowledge and the extraction of value. This book provides a new and unique perspective on the dangers of allowing artificial intelligence and big data to manage society. It is essential reading for those who want to understand the underlying ideological and philosophical changes that have fueled the rise of algorithms and convinced so many to blindly trust their outputs, reshaping our current political and economic situation.Trade ReviewPraise for Deconstruction Machines: Writing in the Age of Cyberwar:Deconstruction machines provides a powerful insight into how cyberwar serves to militarize writing, threatens civic infrastructure and thereby brings war into the code and software that governs our everyday lives. * International Affairs *Praise for Deconstruction Machines: Writing in the Age of Cyberwar:This book makes an important contribution to the future of philosophy under the threat posed by cyberwar and calls us to reconsider and continue working on the philosophical and deconstructive notion of spatiality. -- Catherine MalabouRevolutionary Mathematics critically explores the mathematical systems behind the machinery of abstraction that drives capitalism today - in particular, the machine learning algorithms at the heart of the global platform economy. In linking Marxist theories of real abstraction to mathematical paradigms, such as Bayesian statistics, this challenging work equips critical thought with the tools to contest the hidden codes that run our world. -- Alex Williams, University of East AngliaI have never before read a book on statistics at one gulp, but Justin Joque's investigation into the mathematical premises of algorithmic capital is a tour de force of radical forensics as compelling as any noir thriller. -- Nick Dyer-Witheford, University of Western OntarioWhile almost everyone today is a critic of the capricious algorithms that saturate our lives, Joque takes us into the metaphysical underpinnings of these systems: the statistical methods that provide a phantom objectivity to machine learning, financial derivatives, and even scientific research writ large. Both intensely focused and rich with philosophical asides, Revolutionary Mathematics is an original and vital contribution towards understanding -- and overcoming -- digitized capitalism and its manifold oppressions. -- Gavin Mueller, author of Breaking Things at Work
£16.99
Penguin Books Ltd Self: What am I?
Book SynopsisIn the third in a new series of short, provoking books of original philosophy, acclaimed thinker Barry Dainton takes us through the nature of SelfWhen you think 'What am I?', what's actually doing the thinking? Is it a soul, or some other kind of mental entity separate from your body, or are 'you' just a collection of nerve-endings and narratives? In the third in a new series of short, provoking books of original philosophy, acclaimed thinker Barry Dainton takes us through the nature of Self and its relation to the rest of reality. Starting his journey with Descartes' claim that we are non-physical beings (even if it seems otherwise), and Locke's view that a person is self-conscious matter (though not necessarily in human form), Dainton explores how today's rapid movement of people, and information affects our understanding of self. When technology re-configures our minds, will it remake us, or kill us? If teleportation becomes possible, would it be rational to use it? Could we achieve immortality by uploading ourselves into virtual worlds? Far-reaching and witty, Self is a spirited exploration of the idea that in a constantly-changing world, we and our bodies can go their separate ways.Trade ReviewClever... fun to follow, thanks to [Dainton's] relaxed and humorous prose. In a brief volume he ranges over a vast conceptual territory, lucidly presenting current views of how consciousness fits into the physical world, and speculating with brio on the fate of the self in a future age of brain-augmentation and virtual reality * Prospect *
£999.99
Rudolf Steiner Press Man or Matter: An Introduction to a Spiritual
Book SynopsisIn this third, enlarged edition of Lehrs' classic study, the reader is led, step by step, to a spiritual-scientific method of investigation. The author demonstrates how one can transcend the boundaries of the physical-material world, to the metaphysical origins of nature and the human being. This is a pioneering new method of training both the mind and eye, as well as other human senses, leading to a transformation from our modern 'onlooking' consciousness to a new kind of 'participative' consciousness. The beginnings of this method were formulated by Goethe (1749-1832) more than 200 years ago, but his contemporaries offered little in the way of fertile ground for his ideas. It was Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) who recognized the significance of 'Goetheanism' for the future development not only of science, but of human culture in general, and who developed Goethe's work in modern times. Man or Matter contains the systematic results of the author's work using the methods of Goethe and Steiner (the latter whom he knew personally). With this unique study, he addresses himself to anyone - with or without a specialized scientific training - who is concerned with developing the human power of cognition in the present time. This revised edition was edited by Nick Thomas and Peter Bortoft.
£20.25
Karnac Books Four Discussions with W. R. Bion
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£18.05
Karnac Books Bion in New York and São Paulo: And Three
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£24.99
Central European University Press The Triumph of Uncertainty: Science and Self in
Book SynopsisTauber, a leading figure in history and philosophy of science, offers a unique autobiographical overview of how science as a discipline of thought has been characterized by philosophers and historians over the past century. He frames his account through science’s – and his own personal – quest for explanatory certainty. During the 20th century, that goal was displaced by the probabilistic epistemologies required to characterize complex systems, whether in physics, biology, economics, or the social sciences. This “triumph of uncertainty” is the inevitable outcome of irreducible chance and indeterminate causality. And beyond these epistemological limits, the interpretative faculties of the individual scientist (what Michael Polanyi called the “personal” and the “tacit”) invariably affects how data are understood. Whereas positivism had claimed radical objectivity, post-positivists have identified how a web of non-epistemic values and social forces profoundly influence the production of knowledge. Tauber presents a case study of these claims by showing how immunology has incorporated extra-curricular social elements in its theoretical development and how these in turn have influenced interpretive problems swirling around biological identity, individuality, and cognition. The correspondence between contemporary immunology and cultural notions of selfhood are strong and striking. Just as uncertainty haunts science, so too does it hover over current constructions of personal identity, self knowledge, and moral agency. Across the chasm of uncertainty, science and selfhood speak.Table of ContentsForeword by Scott F. Gilbert Preface Introduction Chapter 1—Beginnings Chapter 2—On Ways of Knowing Chapter 3—Transitions Chapter 4—Rewriting Immunology Chapter 5—The Immune Self Chapter 6—Systems Philosophically Considered Chapter 7—Pursuing the Enigmatic Self Chapter 8—Rethinking Science Chapter 9—Outline of a Post-Positivist Philosophy of Science Chapter 10—A New Agenda Chapter 11—Personalizing Science Chapter 12—Moral Epistemology Chapter 13—Requiem for the Ego Chapter 14—Identity Reconsidered Conclusion Appendix 1—The Modernist Self Acknowledgements Bibliography Index
£24.65
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc Hegels Epistemology
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA reader-friendly, yet philosophically sharp and textually reliable introduction to one of the classics of western philosophy. Westphal shows why the dramatic, quasi-historical, structure of Hegel’s work is not accidental to it, but is rather required by the reflective, self-critical, nature of judgement that Hegel assumes from the beginning. The book will be of interest to readers who approach Hegel with analytical as well as phenomenological preconceptions, and of use (but for different reasons) to undergraduates and graduate students alike. --George di Giovanni, McGill UniversityWestphal argues that epistemological realism is compatible with a social and historical constructivism, and that Hegel shows us how a self-critical community of human knowers can achieve (and reflectively appreciate) knowledge of the world around them and their place in it. Almost 200 years ago Hegel had the kind of epistemology we now know we need! I hope this book will put Hegel back into the canon of epistemology. --Willem de Vries, University of New HampshirePhilosophically, the most satisfying and sophisticated account of the Phenomenology yet. --Frederick Beiser, Syracuse University
£15.19
MIT Press Architectures Theory
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£25.60
Autonomedia Foams: Spheres Volume III: Plural Spherology
Book SynopsisThe final volume in Peter Sloterdijk''s celebrated Spheres trilogy, on the phenomenology of community and its spatial peripheries.“So the One Orb has imploded—now the foams are alive."—from FoamsFoams completes Peter Sloterdijk''s celebrated Spheres trilogy: his 2,500-page “grand narrative” retelling of the history of humanity, as related through the anthropological concept of the "Sphere." For Sloterdijk, life is a matter of form and, in life, sphere formation and thought are two different labels for the same thing. The trilogy also offers his corrective answer to Martin Heidegger''s Being and Time, reformulating it into a lengthy meditation on Being and Space—a shifting of the question of who we are to a more fundamental question of where we are.In this final volume, Sloterdijk''s “plural spherology” moves from the historical perspective on humanity of the preceding two volumes to a philosophical theory of our contemporary era, offering a view of life through a multifocal lens. If Bubbles was Sloterdijk''s phenomenology of intimacy, and Globes his phenomenology of globalization, Foams could be described as his phenomenology of spatial plurality: how the bubbles that we form in our duality bind together to form what sociological tradition calls "society." Foams is an exploration of capsules, islands, and hothouses that leads to the discovery of the foam city.The Spheres trilogy ultimately presents a theology without a God—a spatial theology that requires no God, whose death therefore need not be of concern.As with the two preceding volumes, Foams can be read on its own or in relation to the rest of the trilogy.
£28.80
Princeton University Press The Philosophy of the Enlightenment
Book SynopsisPresents an analysis of one of history's greatest intellectual epochs: the Enlightenment. Arguing that there was a common foundation beneath the diverse strands of thought of this period, this book shows how Enlightenment philosophers drew upon the ideas of the preceding centuries even while radically transforming them to fit the modern world.Trade Review"Cassirer's The Philosophy of the Enlightenment offers much to today's student of the cultural sciences... If nothing else, in our world of concise histories and quick overviews, Philosophy of the Enlightenment is still an excellent and detailed handbook for anyone interested in the various philosophical currents of the Enlightenment."--Hans-Peter Soder, European LegacyTable of ContentsFOREWORD vii PREFACE xi Chapter I. THE MIND OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT 3 Chapter II. NATURE AND NATURAL SCIENCE 37 Chapter III. PSYCHOLOGY AND EPISTEMOLOGY 93 Chapter IV. RELIGION 134 I. The Dogma of Original Sin and the Problem of Theodicy 137 II. Tolerance and the Foundation of Natural Religion 160 III. Religion and History 182 Chapter V. THE CONQUEST OF THE HISTORICAL WORLD 197 Chapter VI. LAW, STATE, AND SOCIETY 234 I. Law and the Principle of Inalienable Rights 234 II. The Contract and the Method of the Social Sciences 253 Chapter VII. FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS OF AESTHETICS 275 I. The Age of Criticism 275 II. Classical Aesthetics and the Objectivity of the Beautiful 278 III. Taste and the Trend toward Subjectivism 297 IV. Intuitional Aesthetics and the Problem of Genius 312 V. Reason and the Imagination: Gottsched and the Swiss Critics 331 VI. The Foundation of Systematic Aesthetics: Baumgarten 338 INDEX 361
£28.80
Princeton University Press Not Born Yesterday
Book SynopsisTrade Review"A bracing book that might make you less gullible about gullibility."---Barbara Kiser, Nature"At the risk of being seen as credulous, I’d say [Mercier] makes a strong case for gullibility being a far less prevalent and important trait than we thought." * New Scientist *"[Not Born Yesterday] will be of interest to anyone who wonders how to trust what people say and do, especially in the digital, free-for-all age of unfettered, often suspect, information. The breadth and depth of research studies presented by Mercier will be especially appealing to science aficionados."---Karen Koenig, New York Journal of Books"In Not Born Yesterday, the cognitive scientist Hugo Mercier brings the conceptual reversal to a domain in desperate need of new insights: that of truth and falsehood, knowledge and ignorance."---N. J. Enfield, Times Literary Supplement"[Not Born Yesterday] marshals a convincing body of research . . . from history and sociology, from anthropology and from the psychology laboratory."---Timandra Harkness, UnHerd"[Mercier's argument] is refreshingly optimistic."---Daniel Akst, Strategy+Business"[A] thought-provoking book about the science of who we trust." * Paradigm Explorer *"At a time when large swaths seem to believe that we are hopelessly doomed because everyone else is stupid and easily misled or manipulated, Mercier’s book provides a nuanced antidote to such thinking, grounded in a careful examination of a wealth of evidence from psychology and the social sciences."---Felix Simon, Medium"[A] lucidly written introduction to the social psychology of communication and reasoning."---Shreeharsh Kelkar, Public Books
£15.29
Princeton University Press Lost in Thought
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Zena Hitz, Winner of the Hiett Prize in the Humanities, The Dallas Institute""Seminary Coop's Notable Books for 2020""A London Lyceum Top Book of the Year""[In Lost in Thought] Hitz is asking the right questions. . . . The question at its heart is disarmingly simple and deeply engaging: What should we do with ourselves."---Jonathan Marks, Wall Street Journal"[An] amazing book." * MC Hammer on Twitter *"Utterly charming."---John Warner, Chicago Tribune"[Lost in Thought] proved a salutary reminder for me, and may for other readers as well, that we should try to make at least a little space . . . for the contemplative learning that drew us into the life of the mind."---James M. Lang, Chronicle of Higher Eduation"Zena Hitz’s Lost in Thought offers a passionate and powerful defense of pure intellectualism and the intrinsic value of the intellectual life."---Steven Mintz, Inside Higher Ed"An inspirational attestation of the ability of intellectual activity to dignify oppressed lives. . . . Much of this book is beautiful."---Sophie Duncan, Literary Review"Hitz’s memoir is profoundly affecting as she describes how academic life made her lose her love of learning before, finally, she found a meaningful path."---Joe Humphreys, Irish Times"Compelling. . . . you’ll probably walk away from this book, as I did, feeling that your inner life has been enlarged."---Roosevelt Montás, Wall Street Journal"Lost in Thought [is] a persuasive defense of learning and intellectual life . . . Hitz’s breadth of knowledge is on display."---Aurelian Craiutu, Los Angeles Review of Books"[Lost in Thought is] full of wonder, full of the joyful smiles of somebody who’s been saved, or saved herself, from empty toils of ledger-sheet learning. In her good-natured way, Hitz chastises the increasing commodification of intellectual endeavor. . . . This is a book to savor in your quietest reading nook. Which is very much the point."---Steve Donoghue, Open Letters Review"Everyone who cares about colleges and universities and their place in American life should read it. [Lost in Thought] confronts familiar and abiding questions about intellectual inquiry in an utterly engaging and profound way. . . . [A] wonderful book."---Flagg Taylor, National Review"In her rich and rewarding book Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life, Professor Zena Hitz argues that the goal of education is not the status or privileges it confers upon us, or even the valuable life skills it demands that we acquire. In line with classical pagan and Christian traditions, she argues that we have a natural desire to understand the world outside of us, and that a true education carefully cultivates this natural love of learning and helps to bring it to its full maturity. . . . [A] rich, timely book, a book educators and students alike would do well to read."---Jennifer A. Frey, Classical Learning Test blog"Lost in Thought [is] an examination of conscience or a manual for discernment for those who care about the intellectual life . . . Lost in Thought is the strongest case for the humanities to appear in years."---Nathaniel Peters, Public Discourse"[Zena Hitz's] account is persuasive, not least because it is personal."---Peter Costello, Irish Catholic"Part autobiography, part defense of impractical intellectualism, and part cultural lament, Lost in Thought forces us to contemplate the ways in which we might salvage thoughtfulness—perhaps not through our universities but in spite of them . . . elegant . . . Hitz’s book is a valuable opportunity."---Charles McNamara, Commonweal"In Lost in Thought, Hitz seeks to revive an appreciation for intellectual pursuit as inherently good and fundamental to human happiness. - Rachel K. Alexander, Tablet Magazine""Lost in Thought is a rhetorical case for the loveliness of learning for its own sake . . . insightful."---Pavlos Papadopoulos, Athwart.org"Very well written and referenced, this book is a reminder that pursuit of the intellectual life, broadly understood, can be of great benefit to individuals and society." * Choice *"[An] important book in which [Hitz] reminds us that the humanities are about humanity, and essentially about cultivating an inner life." * Paradigm Explorer *"One of the most interesting volumes I’ve read this year . . . Lost in Thought mounts a direct challenge to anyone who would collapse contemplative work into a mere prelude to political action, gainful employment, or any other utilitarian pursuit. The development of one’s 'contemplative side,' for lack of a better term, is an end in itself. And for Hitz, it is the cultivation of this distinctly human faculty that lays the groundwork for enduring joy and flourishing, even in the midst of dire personal circumstances."---John Ehrett, Patheos"[Lost in Thought] is best understood as a kind of intellectual pilgrim’s progress: taking us on a tour of the temptations and misunderstandings that prevent us from achieving our nature as thinking beings . . . an absorbing story . . . Lost in Thought helps us to dislodge our dreary preoccupation with transient goods by giving us a glimpse of . . . more lasting satisfactions."---Jenna Silber Storey, Real Clear Books"The best compliment I can give the author of this excellent book is to note that Lost is Thought itself counts as a perfect example of the elusive thing it tries to capture: splendidly useless yet intrinsically valuable thinking in action."---Derek van Zoonen, Nexus Instituut"[A] lovely . . . meditation . . . [in Lost in Thought] Hitz defends learning for its own sake and takes aim polemically at the canard that such learning is “elitist” or draws necessary attention away from the properly activist bent of intellectual inquiry . . . accessible [and] jargon-free."---Matt Dinan, The Hedgehog Review"Zena Hitz’s wonderful book presents a different and refreshing take on these issues. Focusing on what it means to love learning and learning for learning’s sake, she shows us how intellectual activity is part of human flourishing and is essential to our fulfilment."---Joana Correa Monteiro, Forma De Vida"[An] elegant and absorbing argument. . . .The remarkable thing about Lost in Thought is that it makes. . .rather dreary propositions not only palatable but also compelling. Hitz doesn’t just want to persuade you; she wants to win over your heart. . . .You might walk away from it with a little more clarity, a little more conviction, and a little more dedication to what really matters in your life."---Roosevelt Montás, American Political Thought
£999.99
Princeton University Press The Art of Discovery
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£25.20
Zone Books The Normal and the Pathological
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£26.60
Stanford University Press What Is Real?
Book SynopsisEighty years ago, Ettore Majorana, a brilliant student of Enrico Fermi, disappeared under mysterious circumstances while going by ship from Palermo to Naples. How is it possible that the most talented physicist of his generation vanished without leaving a trace? It has long been speculated that Majorana decided to abandon physics, disappearing because he had precociously realized that nuclear fission would inevitably lead to the atomic bomb. This book advances a different hypothesis. Through a careful analysis of Majorana's article "The Value of Statistical Laws in Physics and Social Sciences," which shows how in quantum physics reality is dissolved into probability, and in dialogue with Simone Weil's considerations on the topic, Giorgio Agamben suggests that, by disappearing into thin air, Majorana turned his very person into an exemplary cipher of the status of the real in our probabilistic universe. In so doing, the physicist posed a question to science that is still awaiting an answer: What is Real?
£15.29
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc The Theaetetus of Plato
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewMyles Burnyeat, the Lawrence Professor of Ancient Philosophy at Cambridge, has revised Levett's translation to catch the charm and wit of the original in modern English, and has written a magnificent introduction and commentary of 250 pages that is lucid, rigorous, fair and un-put-downable. --Philip Howard, The Times (London)A masterly contribution to the understanding of the subject in a work of altogether exceptional intelligence. --Sir Hugh Lloyd-Jones, Christ Church, OxfordBurnyeat's introduction to the Theaetetus is easily the best available treatment of the dialogue; it is clear, stimulating, sympathetic but not uncritical, full of novel insights. Students at all levels, including professional philosophers, cannot fail to learn from it, to enjoy it. A real gem. --Gail Fine, Cornell University
£18.04
Oxford University Press Inc The Dynamics of Epistemic Injustice
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£999.99
MIT Press The Outer Limits of Reason
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£20.00
Taylor & Francis Ltd Is There a God
Book SynopsisBertrand Russell famously quipped that he didn't believe in God for the same reason that he didn't believe in a teapot in orbit between the earth and Mars: it is a bizarre assertion for which no evidence can be provided. Is belief in God really like belief in Russell's teapot? Kenneth L. Pearce argues that God is no teapot. God is a real answer to the deepest question of all: why is there something rather than nothing? Graham Oppy argues that we should believe that there are none but natural causal entities with none but natural causal propertiesand hence should believe that there are no gods. Beginning from this basic disagreement, the authors proceed to discuss and debate a wide range of philosophical questions, including questions about explanation, necessity, rationality, religious experience, mathematical objects, the foundations of ethics, and the methodology of philosophy. Each author first presents his own side, and then they interact through two rounds of objections and repTrade Review"Kenneth Pearce and Graham Oppy are first-rate philosophers of religion. This book offers an engaging and fruitful dialogue between a theist and an atheist, addressing all key concepts and arguments in the contemporary debate on the existence of God. I recommend the book to all readers who are interested in studying both sides of the debate."Yujin Nagasawa, H. G. Wood Professor of the Philosophy of Religion, University of Birmingham, U.K."This exchange between Oppy and Pearce represents the finest in philosophical inquiry. Together they create a new chandelier with structure and detail as they systematically discuss questions of worldview along the cutting edge of philosophical inquiry. Their exchange is professional, productive, and elegant."Joshua Rasmussen, Department of Philosophy, Azusa Pacific University, U.S.A.Table of ContentsForeword: Worldview comparison and religious commitment, by Helen De Cruz Opening Statements 1. Classical Theism: An Exposition and Defense 2. Are There Any Gods? First Round of Replies 3. Reply to Graham Oppy’s Opening Statement4. Reply to Kenny Pearce’s Opening Statement Second Round of Replies 5. Reply to Graham Oppy's Reply 6. Reply to Kenny Pearces’s Reply
£27.99
Oxford University Press Aristotle Topics Book VI
Book SynopsisThis volume presents a new translation of Aristotle''s Topics Book VI by Annamaria Schiaparelli, accompanied by a detailed commentary and textual notes providing insight into the history of the transmission of the text with its variants. In the Topics, Aristotle aims at developing his dialectical method. He introduces the four predicables (property, genus, accident, and definition) which are necessary for the classification and application of the topoi, or commonplaces. Book VI of the Topics is entirely devoted to the discussion of definition, the most extended and refined discussion of this subject handed down to us from the classical period. The concept of definition plays a central role not only in Aristotle''s logic but also in his ontology. Issues connected with definitions emerge constantly throughout his works. Moreover, definitions are at the centre of Platonic philosophy and sparked a lively discussion in philosophy of the Hellenistic and late classical periods.Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION I: The Place of the Topics in Aristotle's Corpus II: The Contents of the Topics III: The Four Predicables IV: The Classifications of the Predicables V: The Logical Relations among the Predicables VI: The Predicable Definition VII: Types of Definition and their Rules VIII: The Notion of Causality in the Topics IX: Some Prominent Themes concerning Standard Definitions X: Structure and Interpretations of Book VI of the Topics TRANSLATION COMMENTARY Notes on the Text Appendix: The Predicables Logical Relations Select Bibliography Glossary: English-Greek / Greek-English Indexes
£25.00
McGill-Queen's University Press Once upon a Time in the West Essays on the
Book SynopsisWestern civilization is over. So begins Jan Zwicky’s trenchant exploration of the roots of global cultural and ecological collapse. Once Upon a Time in the West documents how a narrow epistemological style has left us blind to critical features of reality, and how the terrifying consequences of that shuttered vision are now unfolding.Trade Review“Zwicky's distinctive voice – warm, wise, sometimes colloquial or cutting – brings together these essays on diverse topics. Her sensibility is of course poetic, but also critical in the best sense: rigorous, probing, and committed. This is an engaging and enlightening portrait of a fine thinker in action.” Mark Kingwell, University of Toronto and author of Singular Creatures: Robots, Rights, and the Politics of Posthumanism“Lyric philosophy of the highest calibre. Jan Zwicky addresses the dilemmas we as a species are faced with today with great lucidity, seamlessly weaving together a wide variety of themes from philosophy, poetry, and ecology. Anyone interested in understanding the more-than-human world and our place in it is bound to find food for thought in these beautifully written and provoking philosophical essays.” Leonor María Martínez Serrano, University of Córdoba and author of Breathing Earth: The Polyphonic Lyric of Robert Bringhurst
£21.59
Hawthorn Press Humanity on the Threshold
Book SynopsisHumanity on the Threshold focuses on strengthening human resilience though spiritual development. This lets us see beyond the normal inner and outer limits of consciousness into sound knowledge of the higher self. Deeper wonders of nature can also appear. If boundaries break down without preparation, then mental breakdowns might follow. Guidelines are suggested for working therapeutically with such issues with those experiencing threshold issues.
£17.00
Oxford University Press Perception and Idealism An Essay on How the World
Book SynopsisPerception and Idealism examines how perception makes objects manifest to us, and what the world must be like for objects to be manifest in that way. Howard Robinson argues for a version of sense-datum theory about perception and theistic phenomenalism about metaphysical reality.Trade ReviewRobinson's book is clearly and beautifully written, and argumentatively persuasive ... a refreshing blast of curative air breathed into the dank enclosures of Direct Realism, Disjunctivism and Reductive Representationalism. * David Pitt, California State University, Los Angeles *Robinson argues for a kind of idealism, providing well-organized, well-documented discussions of both early modern and recent philosophers' views on the nature of perception and its relationship to the world. * Choice *Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I: How the World Manifests Itself to Us 1: The Causal Argument for Sense-Data, 'Philosophers' Hallucinations', and the Disjunctive Response 2: Naïve Realism and the Argument from Illusion 3: Intentionality and Perception (I): The Fundamental irrelevance of Intentionality to Phenomenal Consciousness 4: Intentionality and Perception (II): Attempts to Articulate the 'Content' and 'Object' Distinction 5: Singular Reference and its Relation to Intentionality 6: Objectivity: How is It Possible? 7: Semantic Direct Realism, Critical Realism, and the Sense-Datum Theory 8: Building the Manifest World Part II: What the World Is, in Itself 9: The Problematic Nature of the Modern Conception of Matter 10: Two Suggestive Berkeleyan Arguments 11: Bishop Berkeley and John Foster on Problems with Physical Realism about Space 12: Mentalist Alternatives to Berkeleyan Theism, and their Failure General Conclusion
£72.20
Oxford University Press Aesthetic Testimony
Book SynopsisAesthetic judgements that are formed on the basis of testimony are commonly held to be defective, illegitimate, or otherwise problematic. This book assesses the debate surrounding aesthetic testimony and argues for the surprising conclusion that this widespread view is mistaken. Aesthetic testimony is in no way inferior as a source of judgement when compared to either first-hand aesthetic judgement or testimony concerning non-aesthetic matters. Alongside establishing this position (an extreme form of ''optimism'' concerning aesthetic testimony), Jon Robson also responds to the most prominent arguments for the opposing view (''pessimism'' concerning aesthetic testimony). Along the way, it also re-examines our understanding of the norms which govern both judgement and assertion in aesthetics.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Optimism and Pessimism 2: Constitutive Pessimism 3: The Presumption of Optimism 4: Pessimism and the Appeal to Cases 5: Optimism and the Appeal to Cases 6: Pessimism, Assertion, and Signalling 7: The Debate Concerning Assertion
£76.00
Oxford University Press Two Arguments for the Identity of Indiscernibles
Book SynopsisGonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra presents two arguments for the principle that no two objects can differ only numerically. He shows that the principle cannot be reduced to a triviality, and that restricted versions concerning only qualitative propeties face problems.Trade ReviewThe book contains four new arguments about the Identity of Indiscernibles. * MathSciNet *
£53.20
Oxford University Press Movements of the Mind
Book SynopsisMovements of the Mind is about what it is to be an agent. Focusing on mental agency, it integrates multiple approaches, from philosophical analysis of the metaphysics of agency to the activity of neurons in the brain. Philosophical and empirical work are combined to generate concrete explanations of key features of the mind. The book should be relevant and accessible to philosophers and scientists interested in mind and agency.Wu argues that actions have a core psychological structure where attention plays a necessary role in guiding the agent''s response and intentions function as memory for work, a practical memory. Attention and memory are accordingly central parts of an agent''s intentionally doing things. These claims are supported by synthesizing philosophical and empirical work to produce a theory of intention and attention in action. The account explains three phenomena of current philosophical interest: (a) the basis of positively and negatively biased action where attention often leads to implicit bias, (b) the dynamics of deductive reasoning as the focusing of a thinker''s cognitive attention and the development of cognitive skills, and (c) the psychology of introspective access to conscious perceptual experience, making clear when introspection can intelligibly fail and when it can succeed.The book provides a theory of agency, whether human or non-human, along with technical notions of automaticity and control, a theory of attention as selection to guide behavior, an account of intention as memory whose dynamics are revealed in empirical investigation of working memory, explications of sustained attention and vigilance, an explanation of biased behavior driven by biases on attention, normative aspects of attention as a skill, the role of learning in cognitive skill, a theory of deduction as a sharpening of attention, and a psychologically plausible model of introspection that speaks to its accuracy and reliability.Trade ReviewThis book puts forward a theory of action. It synthesises Wayne Wu's extensive work on action and attention going back over a decade, and also substantially extends this foundation... The result is excellent. The book is wide-ranging, systematic, very original, and crammed full of interesting ideas. It draws together scientific work with philosophical argumentation in a way that is both rigorous and unusually readable. I have no doubt that it will be important to thinkers interested in action and attention, as well as philosophers of cognitive science more generally. * Henry Taylor, University of Birmingham, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I 1: The Structure of Acting Appendix 1 2: Attention and Attending Part II 3: Intention as Practical Memory 4: Intending as Practical Remembering Part III 5: Automatic Bias, Experts and Amateurs 6: Deducing, Skill and Knowledge 7: Introspecting Perceptual Experience Epilogue Bibliography
£60.00
Oxford University Press The Tinkering Mind Agency Cognition and the
Book SynopsisEpistemic agency is a crucial concept in many areas of philosophy and cognitive sciences. But what is it? The Tinkering Mind argues that epistemic agency has two distinct, incompatible definitions - intentional mental action, or a distinct non-voluntary form of evaluative agency, both of which lead to surprising, counterintuitive consequences.
£72.20
Oxford University Press Inc Racial Climates Ecological Indifference An
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewDeveloping an ecointersectional analysis, Tuana (philosophy, women's studies, Pennsylvania State Univ.) has produced an elegant, meticulously crafted, deep, and yet accessible text on how racism is entangled in the environmental justice movement. * Choice *Table of ContentsChapter 1 - The Interlocking Domains of Racism and Ecological Indifference Chapter 2 - Racial Climates Chapter 3 - Climate Apartheid: The Forgetting of Race Chapter 4 - Through the Eye of a Hurricane Chapter 5 - Weathering the Climate Conclusion - Cultivating Anthropocenean Sensibilities Acknowledgements References Index
£24.49
Oxford University Press By the Light of the Moon
£16.99
Oxford University Press Oxford IB Diploma Programme Philosophy Being
Book SynopsisThis Course Book has been updated for the new syllabus (first teaching 2023).The most comprehensive coverage of the core content Being Human, this course book will help learners grasp complex philosophical ideas and develop the crucial thinking skills. Developed directly with the IB, dedicated assessment support straight from the IB builds confidence. The most comprehensive coverage of the core content Being Human, developed directly with the IB.Engage learners in the course, connecting philosophical ideas with contemporary and relevant real situations.Build practical skills and develop student confidence with skills application.Help students understand exam achievement levels and progress attainment with clear student samples.Assessment support straight from the IB cements assessment potential.Support all learning styles and simplify complex philosophical ideas using clear visuals and illustrations.Reinforce all the key ideas with integrated activities, helping you extend and deepen understanding.The only DP Philosophy resource developed directly with the IB.This pack includes one print Course Book and one online Course Book. The online Course Book will be available on Oxford Education Bookshelf until 2031. Access is facilitated via a unique code, which is sent in the mail. The code must be linked to an email address, creating a user account. Access may be transferred once to a new user, once the initial user no longer requires access. You will need to contact your local Educational Consultant to arrange this.
£69.11
Oxford University Press Knowledge on Trust
Book SynopsisWe know a lot about the world and our place in it. We have come to this knowledge in a variety of ways. And one central way that we, both as individuals and as a society, have come to know what we do is through communication with others. Much of what we know, we know on the basis of testimony. In Knowledge on Trust, Paul Faulkner presents an epistemological theory of testimony, or a theory that explains how it is that we acquire knowledge and warranted belief from testimony. The key questions addressed in this book are: what makes it reasonable to accept a piece of testimony? And what warrants belief formed on this testimonial basis? Faulkner argues that existing theories of testimony largely fail because they do not recognise how issues of practical rationality motivate the first question, and this is what makes testimony distinctive as a source of knowledge. At the heart of the theory this book presents is the idea that trust is central to answering these two questions. An attitude oTrade Reviewa rich, multi-faceted, and carefully argued work * Thomas W. Simpson, Mind *Since everyone working on testimony should read Knowledge on Trust, I have a good reason for thinking they will * Peter J. Graham, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *I recommend his book highly to anyone interested in these challenging issues * Guy Longworth, Analysis *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements ; 1. The Epistemology of Testimony ; 2. The Reductive Theory ; 3. Trust and the Transmission of Knowledge ; 4. The Non-Reductive Theory ; 5. Trust and the Uptake of Testimony ; 6. The Assurance Theory ; 7. Trust and The Institution of Testimony ; 8. The Trust Theory ; References ; Index
£999.99
Oxford University Press Beyond Concepts
Book SynopsisRuth Garrett Millikan presents a highly original account of cognition - of how we get to grips with the world in thought. The question at the heart of her book is Kant''s ''How is knowledge possible?'', but answered from a contemporary naturalist standpoint. The starting assumption is that we are evolved creatures that use cognition as a guide in dealing with the natural world, and that the natural world is roughly as natural science has tried to describe it. Very unlike Kant, then, we must begin with ontology, with a rough understanding of what the world is like prior to cognition, only later developing theories about the nature of cognition within that world and how it manages to reflect the rest of nature. And in trying to get from ontology to cognition we must traverse another non-Kantian domain: questions about the transmission of information both through natural signs and through purposeful signs including, especially, language. Millikan makes a number of innovations. Central to the book is her introduction of the ideas of unitrackers and unicepts, whose job is to recognize the same again as manifested through the jargon of experience. She offers a direct reference theory for common nouns and other extensional terms; a naturalist sketch of conceptual development; a theory of natural information and of language function that shows how properly functioning language carries natural information; a novel description of the semantics/pragmatics distinction; a discussion of perception as translation from natural informational signs; new descriptions of indexicals, demonstratives and intensional contexts; and a new analysis of the reference of incomplete descriptions.Trade ReviewBeyond Concepts is an impressive work of systematic philosophy. * Mikio Akagi, The Philosophical Quarterly *This book is a great philosophical achievement. The breadth and originality of Millikan's view are remarkable. She shows how a naturalistic approach can provide a fresh perspective on central philosophical puzzles and puts forward several new ideas that will engender lively debates. The systematic character of her work is especially impressive - Millikan tackles many different themes, but the various components of her account fit together beautifully and mutually support each other. This book has much to offer to both those already familiar with her work and new readers. * Andrea Onofri, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *Brilliant. * Geoffrey Pullum, Chronicle of Higher Education *Table of ContentsPart I 0: Introduction to Part I 1: A Clumpy World 2: Direct Reference for Extensional Terms 3: Introducing Unitrackers and Unicepts 4: Functions of Same-Tracking 5: How Unicepts Get Their Referents 6: Misrepresentation, Redundancy, Equivocity, Emptiness (and Swampman) 7: Some Implications Part II 8: Introduction to Part II 9: Indexicals and Self-Signs 10: An Anatomy of Signs 11: Infosigns and Natural Information 12: Intentional Signs 13: Linguistic Signs 14: Perception, Especially Perception through Language 15: Markers of Identity and Grounded Infosigns 16: Out-side Pragmatics: Descriptions, Quantifiers, Directives Glossary
£25.17
Oxford University Press The Minds Construction The Ontology of Mind and Mental Action
Book SynopsisPhilosophers working on the ontology of mind have highlighted various distinctions that can be drawn between the ways in which different aspects of our minds fill time. For example, they note that whereas some elements of our mental lives obtain over time, others unfold over time, and some continue to occur throughout intervals of time. Matthew Soteriou explores ways in which such distinctions can be put to work in helping to inform philosophical accounts of both sensory and cognitive aspects of consciousness. Part One of The Mind''s Construction argues that work in the ontology of mind that focuses on distinctions of temporal character has much to contribute to philosophical accounts of the phenomenology of various elements of sensory consciousness--e.g. the phenomenology of perceptual experience, bodily sensation, and perceptual imagination. Part Two argues that these ontological considerations can inform our understanding of conscious thinking, and the form of self-conscious conscioTrade ReviewThe Mind's Construction makes light dawn across vast swathes of philosophy of action, epistemology, philosophy of perception and philosophy of consciousness. It is a marvellous book, with which it is absolutely impossible to remain unimpressed. * Helen Steward, Mind *Table of ContentsPART I. SENSORY CONSCIOUSNESS; PART II. CONSCIOUS THINKING
£999.99
Oxford University Press The Epistemology of Disagreement New Essays
Book SynopsisThe Epistemology of Disagreement brings together essays from a dozen philosophers on the epistemic significance of disagreement; all but one of the essays are new. Questions discussed include: When (if ever) does the disagreement of others require a rational agent to revise her beliefs? Do ''conciliatory'' accounts, on which agents are required to revise significantly, suffer from fatal problems of self-defeat, given the disagreement about disagreement? What is the significance of disagreement about philosophical topics in particular? How does the epistemology of disagreement relate to broader epistemic theorizing? Does the increased significance of multiple disagreeing agents depend on their being independent of one another? John Hawthorne and Amia Srinivasan, Thomas Kelly, and Brian Weatherson all weigh in with attacks on conciliatory views or defenses of non-conciliatory approaches. David Christensen and Stewart Cohen take up the opposite side of the debate. Bryan Frances, Sanford GTrade Reviewthis book advances our previous understanding of the topic and draws attention to new issues for exploration. It is essential reading for anyone interested in epistemological and meta-philosophical topics. * Nathan Ballantyne, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *Table of ContentsPART ONE: THE DEBATE BETWEEN CONCILIATORY AND STEADFAST THEORISTS; A. FOR STEADFASTNESS; B. FOR CONCILIATION; PART TWO: DISAGREEMENT IN PHILOSOPHY; PART THREE: NEW CONCEPTS AND NEW PROBLEMS IN THE EPISTEMOLOGY OF DISAGREEMENT
£999.99
Oxford University Press Action Knowledge and Will
Book SynopsisWhat is the difference between the movements in our bodies we cause personally ourselves, such as the movements of our legs or our lips when we walk or speak, and the movements we do not cause personally, such as the contraction of the heart? Is an act that is done under duress done voluntarily, out of choice? Should duress exculpate a defendant completely, or should it merely mitigate the criminality of an act? When we explain an intentional act by stating our reasons for doing it, do we explain it causally or teleologically, or both? Should we care whether our choices are guided by knowledge or mere true belief?In Action, Knowledge, and Will, John Hyman explores these and other central problems in the philosophy of action and the theory of knowledge, and connects these areas of enquiry in a new way. The main premise of the book is that human action has four irreducibly different dimensions, each with its own family of concepts: - a physical dimension, in which the principal concepts Trade ReviewAction, Knowledge, and Will is a splendid book--insightful, original, elegantly written and carefully edited, and a genuine pleasure to read. John Hyman weaves strands of historical, legal, empirical, and conceptual analysis into a series of arguments that are fresh and exciting at every turn. * John Schwenkler, Australasian Journal of Philosophy *John Hyman is one of the most creative and wide-ranging philosophers working today. * Kieran Setiya, MIT *With this book, John Hyman has done more for action theory than anyone in the field since Anscombe. His arguments in support of the thesis that human agency is best conceived as the integration of four dimensions presents a new picture that, in time, will change the way everyone thinks about human action. * Dennis Patterson, Jurisprudence *[T]he most important treatment of action since Anscombe and Davidson ... It takes the traditional question whether we should give a physical, ethical, psychological or intellectual account of human action and stands it on its head. For Hyman argues that the real question is how to distinguish the physical, the ethical, the psychological and the intellectual dimensions of human action, and he thereby changes the landscape in the philosophy of action. * Evgenia Mylonaki, Philosophical Quarterly *John Hyman brilliantly tackles a problem that has rankled since Plato: what is involved when we voluntarily perform an action? "The will", he argues, has been made too much of a catch-all of the various dimensions of human agency -- physical, psychological, ethical and intellectual. Philosophy is all about fine distinctions. Here they are made acutely yet accessibly to give us a new picture of who we are. * Jane O'Grady, The Tablet, Books of the Year *John Hyman's new book is a masterful blend of the philosophy of action and epistemology. In it he seeks not only to realign the philosophy of action, but to turn epistemology -- at least, that part of it that is concerned with the nature of knowledge -- into a part of the philosophy of action. ... Hyman's book is an invitation to a radical new research programme in epistemology. I hope that others join him in working it out. * Analysis *How could knowledge be even better for us than true beliefs that we have good reason to accept? John Hyman answers this question in Action, Knowledge, and Will. It is by no means the only question he answers in this rich, delightful book. He reaches fresh, insightful conclusions about human action and thought by attending to connections between questions usually treated separately. He explains and defends those conclusions sharply and carefully, with admirable regard for what the words involved in the question actually mean. * Barry Stroud, Times Literary Supplement *[A] vast improvement over the anti-psychologistic accounts of reasons-explanations that have proliferated in recent years. It both allows us to emphasize reasons why as facts that favor actions while allowing us to include an agent's psychological states in genuine reasons-explanations. ... While he challenges many widely endorsed views in contemporary philosophy of action, Hyman does not adopt an unprincipled contrarian stance. Rather, he strikes me as a friendly critic, offering ways to correct mistakes philosophers have made in the past three hundred years. * Andrei A. Buckareff, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *Table of ContentsPreface 1: Agency and the Will 2: Action and Integration 3: Acts and Events 4: Voluntariness and Choice 5: Desire and Intention 6: Reason and Knowledge 7: Knowledge as an Ability 8: The Road to Larissa Appendix: The Modern Theory of the Will Endnotes Bibliography Acknowledgements Index
£34.49
Oxford University Press The Mirror of the World Subjects Consciousness and SelfConsciousness Context and Content Context Content
Book SynopsisChristopher Peacocke presents a philosophical theory of subjects of consciousness, together with a theory of the nature of first person representation of such a subject of consciousness. He develops a new treatment of subjects, distinct from previous theories, under which subjects were regarded either as constructs from mental events, or fundamentally embodied, or Cartesian egos. In contrast, his theory of the first person integrates with the positive treatment of subjectsand it contributes to the explanation of various distinctive first person phenomena in the theory of thought and knowledge. These are issues on which contributions have been made by some of the greatest philosophers, and Peacocke brings his points to bear on the contributions to these issues made by Hume, Kant, Frege, Wittgenstein, and Strawson. He also relates his position to the recent literature in the philosophy of mind, and then goes on to distinguish and characterize three varieties of self-consciousness. PerspeTrade Review... this is a very rich and rewarding book -- required reading for anyone interested in the metaphysics and epistemology of the self. * Jose Luis Bermúdez, Philosophical Quarterly *Peacocke's account of subjects is in many ways an appealing one . . . but also complex and multi-layered . . . the book is an impressive piece of work . . . Mirror would serve as an excellent introduction for those coming to Peacocke's writings for the first time. * Barry Dainton, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *Table of ContentsI: Introduction II: Primitive Self-Representation III: The Metaphysics of Conscious Subjects IV: The First Person Concept and Its Nonconceptual Parent V: Explaining First Person Phenomena VI: Descartes Defended VII: Paralogisms and First Person Illusions VIII: Perspectival Self-Consciousness IX: Reflective Self-Consciousness X: Interpersonal Self-Consciousness XI: Open Conclusion: The Place of Metaphysics References Index
£999.99
Oxford University Press Intuition
Book SynopsisWe know about our immediate environment--about the people, animals, and things around us--by having sensory perceptions. According to a tradition that traces back to Plato, we know about abstract reality--about mathematics, morality, and metaphysics--by having intuitions, which can be thought of as intellectual perceptions. The rough idea behind the analogy is this: while sensory perceptions are experiences that purport to, and sometimes do, reveal how matters stand in concrete reality by making us aware of that reality through the senses, intuitions are experiences that purport to, and sometimes do, reveal how matters stand in abstract reality by making us aware of that reality through the intellect. In this book, Elijah Chudnoff elaborates and defends such a view of intuition. He focuses on the experience of having an intuition, on the justification for beliefs that derives from intuition, and on the contact with abstract reality via intuition. In the course of developing a systematic account of the phenomenology, epistemology, and metaphysics of intuition on which it counts as a form of intellectual perception Chudnoff also takes up related issues such as the a priori, perceptual justification and knowledge, concepts and understanding, inference, mental action, and skeptical challenges to intuition.Trade ReviewChudnoff's treatments of various mental phenomena are phenomenologically astute, epistemologically nuanced, and metaphysically robust . . . Intuition deserves praise as a creative, rigorous, ambitious, and sensitive contribution to our collective effort to understand the nature and scope of our intellectual powers, including those powers ascribed by Platonic rationalists. * John Bengson, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *Table of ContentsPART 1: INTUITION EXPERIENCE; PART 2: INTUITIVE JUSTIFICATION; PART 3: INTUITIVE KNOWLEDGE
£34.99
Oxford University Press Berkeleys Argument for Idealism
Book SynopsisSamuel C. Rickless presents a novel interpretation of the thought of George Berkeley. In A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710) and Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous (1713), Berkeley argues for the astonishing view that physical objects (such as tables and chairs) are nothing but collections of ideas (idealism); that there is no such thing as material substance (immaterialism); that abstract ideas are impossible (anti-abstractionism); and that an idea can be like nothing but an idea (the likeness principle). It is a matter of great controversy what Berkeley''s argument for idealism is and whether it succeeds. Most scholars believe that the argument is based on immaterialism, anti-abstractionism, or the likeness principle. In Berkeley''s Argument for Idealism, Rickless argues that Berkeley distinguishes between two kinds of abstraction, ''singling'' abstraction and ''generalizing'' abstraction; that his argument for idealism depends on the impossibilityTrade ReviewSamuel C. Rickless Berkeleys Argument for Idealism is an excellent book. It is clearly written, tightly focused, and rigorously argued ... a must-read for historians of early modern philosophy ... I am confident that it will shape this debate for many years to come. * Robert Watt, European Journal of Philosophy *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Mediate and immediate perception 2: The perception of sensible objects 3: The argument for idealism in the Principles 4: The argument for idealism in the first Dialogue Conclusion Bibliography Index
£999.99
Oxford University Press The Norm of Belief
Book SynopsisJohn Gibbons presents an original account of epistemic normativity. Belief seems to come with a built-in set of standards or norms. One task is to say where these standards come from. But the more basic task is to say what those standards are. In some sense, beliefs are supposed to be true. Perhaps they''re supposed to constitute knowledge. And in some sense, they really ought to be reasonable. Which, if any of these is the fundamental norm of belief? The Norm of Belief argues against the teleological or instrumentalist conception of rationality that sees being reasonable as a means to our more objective aims, either knowledge or truth. And it tries to explain both the norms of knowledge and of truth in terms of the fundamental norm, the one that tells you to be reasonable. But the importance of being reasonable is not explained in terms of what it will get you, or what you think it will get you, or what it would get you if only things were different. The requirement to be reasonable cTrade ReviewGibbons' excellent book . . . is extremely rewarding. Not only does he offer interesting answers to foundational questions about epistemic normativity, he engages with some important questions in practical reason in a way that few epistemologists have done . . . I strongly recommend the book to those who work on normativity. * Errol Lord, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *Table of ContentsPART I: THE AMBIGUITY THEORY; PART II: OBJECTIVISM; PART III: THE NATURAL REACTION; PART IV: SUBJECTIVISM
£999.99
Oxford University Press Rationality and Reflection How to Think About What to Think
Book SynopsisJonathan L. Kvanvig presents a conception of rationality which answers to the need arising out of the egocentric predicament concerning what to do and what to believe. He does so in a way that avoids, on the one hand, reducing rationality to the level of beasts, and on the other hand, elevating it so that only the most reflective among us are capable of rational beliefs. Rationality and Reflection sets out a theory of rationality--a theory about how to determine what to think--which defends a significant degree of optionality in the story of what is reasonable for people to think, and thereby provides a framework for explaining what kinds of rational disagreement are possible. The theory is labelled Perspectivalism and it offers a unique account of rationality, one that cuts across the usual distinctions between Foundationalism and Coherentism and between Internalism and Externalism. It also differs significantly from Evidentialism, maintaining that, to the extent that rationality is cTrade ReviewRecommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty. * Choice *Rationality and Reflection highlights some important -- and, to my mind, entirely correct -- desiderata for a theory of rationality. Kvanvig's theory offers an interesting way to accommodate those desiderata, and provides a new setting in which current debates can play out. * Sophie Horowitz, Mind *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Epistemic Appraisal 2: The Egocentric Predicament and Normativity 3: Excusability 4: Rational Disagreement 5: Perspectivalism and Optionalism 6: From Schema to Theory: The Role of Autonomy in the Theory of Rationality 7: Conclusion A: Reducing Personal to Doxastic Justification B: Reducing Doxastic to Propositional Justification Index Bibliography
£999.99
Oxford University Press CENTERED MIND P What the Science of Working Memory Shows Us About the Nature of Human Thought
Book SynopsisThe Centered Mind offers a new view of the nature and causal determinants of both reflective thinking and, more generally, the stream of consciousness. Peter Carruthers argues that conscious thought is always sensory-based, relying on the resources of the working-memory system. This system has been much studied by cognitive scientists. It enables sensory images to be sustained and manipulated through attentional signals directed at midlevel sensory areas of the brain. When abstract conceptual representations are bound into these images, we consciously experience ourselves as making judgments or arriving at decisions. Thus one might hear oneself as judging, in inner speech, that it is time to go home, for example. However, our amodal (non-sensory) propositional attitudes are never actually among the contents of this stream of conscious reflection. Our beliefs, goals, and decisions are only ever active in the background of consciousness, working behind the scenes to select the sensory-baTrade ReviewThis impressive, if difficult, book of 'theoretical psychology' critically integrates results from across the cognitive sciences into a theory of 'reflection' . . . [Carruthers] systematizes and advances 'global workspace' theories in the most comprehensive philosophical study yet of the sciences of 'working memory' . . . Even readers who disagree with Carruthers' central claims will enjoy his rich discussions along the way of attention, motor imagery, temporal discounting, mind-wandering and creativity, fluid intelligence, animal cognition, and extended minds. * John Sutton, Australasian Journal of Philosophy *a good example of the genre, meriting careful study from anyone interested in reflection and the stream of consciousness. Carruthers writes clearly and engagingly. He treats his traditional targets with respect. He presents an impressive array of empirical research while both getting into the details and fitting them all into an intelligible order. His aim throughout is to help us better understand the things themselves--reflection and the stream of consciousness -- not to grind some metaphilosophical axe . . . I found reading his book and engaging with his reasoning to be instructive and illuminating. * Elijah Chudnoff, Notre Dame Philosophical Review Online *Although the stream of consciousness seems intimately familiar to us, its underlying nature has been an enduring philosophical and psychological mystery. Carruthers presents a clear and deeply radical solution to this mystery, drawing together a massive array of empirical research in support of an attractively simple sensory-based account of conscious thought. He takes bold positions on a wide range of related issues, including the line between mental activity and passivity, the relationship between working memory and reflective thought, and the gap between our intuitive impressions of our conscious states and the real contents of those states themselves. For those who are curious about these questions, The Centered Mind is a terrific and accessible guide; for those who are already specialists in conscious thought, this book sets the agenda of future research. * Jennifer Nagel, University of Toronto *Peter Carruthers has long been one of our foremost empirically informed philosophers of mind. In this book, he presents a persuasive account of the mechanisms underlying conscious thought and reasoning. Carruthers integrates a wealth of empirical work in the cognitive sciences to develop a novel conception of working memory as the heart of conscious thought and reasoning. Philosophically sophisticated and steeped in psychology and neuroscience, The Centered Mind is essential reading for philosophers and for cognitive scientists concerned with the nature of consciousness and the nature, powers and limits of conscious reasoning. * Neil Levy, Oxford Centre for Neuroethics / Florey Neuroscience Institutes, University of Melbourne *Table of Contents1: Introduction 2: Propositional Attitudes 3: Perception, Attention, and Consciousness 4: The Nature of Working Memory 5: The Unity of Working Memory 6: Working Memory in Action 7: Reasoning, Working Memory, and Attitudes 8: The Evolution of Reflection 9: Conclusion: The Conscious Mind as Marionette References Index of names Index of subjects
£29.99
Oxford University Press AESTHETICS AS PHILOSOPHY OF PERCEPTION P
Book SynopsisAesthetics is about some special and unusual ways of experiencing the world. Not just artworks, but also nature and ordinary objects. But then if we apply the remarkably elaborate and sophisticated conceptual apparatus of philosophy of perception to questions in aesthetics, we can make real progress. The aim of this book is to bring the discussion of aesthetics and perception together. Bence Nanay explores how many influential debates in aesthetics look very different, and may beAesthetics is about some special and unusual ways of experiencing the world. Not just artworks, but also nature and ordinary objects. But then if we apply the remarkably elaborate and sophisticated conceptual apparatus of philosophy of perception to questions in aesthetics, we can make real progress. The aim of this book is to bring the discussion of aesthetics and perception together. Bence Nanay explores how many influential debates in aesthetics look very different, and may be easier to tackle, if we clarifyTrade Reviewhis thesis and concomitant notions are very interesting. Furthermore, he makes good use of his entire framework. Focused attention and distributed attention do seem involved in various aspects of aesthetic experiences. It would appear that the philosophy of perception can and should illuminate important features of aesthetic experience. I would recommend this book for both philosophers of perception and aestheticians-which is Nanay's intended audience. * Charles Macmillan Urban, Philosophy in Review *Bence Nanay provides an original and interesting discussion of the connections between aesthetics and the philosophy of perception. * Mette K. Hansen, Philosophical Quarterly *the discussions are rich with examples drawn from both "high art" and "popular" media, never overused and always on point. This is not to suggest that the discussion is "overly accessible": it offers high-level discussion of technical issues in philosophical aesthetics and art theory, and no less so of issues in philosophy of and empirical studies on perception. For each separate topic or chapter, prior to offering his own critiques and positive analyses, Nanay offers a clear and engaging background story -- whether it is the conceptual history of formalism, philosophical theories about how we see pictures, or scientific evidence that suggests sensory perception is not functionally isolated from other mental processes. The book both invites and informs. * Dustin Stokes, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *Table of Contents1: Aesthetics 2: Distributed attention 3: Pictures 4: Aesthetically relevant properties 5: Semi-Formalism 6: Uniqueness 7: The history of vision 8: Non-distributed attention
£999.99
Oxford University Press Possibility of Inquiry
Book SynopsisGail Fine presents an original interpretation of a compelling puzzle in ancient philosophy. Meno''s Paradox, which is first formulated in Plato''s Meno, challenges the very possibility of inquiry. Plato replies with the theory of recollection, according to which we all had prenatal knowledge of some range of things, and what we call inquiry involves recollecting what we previously knew; he also illustrates this with his famous cross-examination of an untutored slave about a geometry problem, whose solution the slave is able to discover through inquiry. Hence, contrary to the paradox, inquiry is possible after all. Plato is not the only philosopher to grapple with Meno''s Paradox: so too do Aristotle, the Epicureans, the Stoics, and Sextus. How do their various replies compare with one another, and with Plato''s? How good are any of their replies? In a fascinating fragment preserved in Damascius'' Commentary on the Phaedo, Plutarch briefly considers these questions (though for obvious chronological reasons he doesn''t discuss Sextus). But Fine''s book is the first full-length systematic treatment of the paradox and responses to it. Among the topics discussed are the nature of knowledge; how knowledge differs from mere true belief; the nature of inquiry; varieties of innatism; concepts and meaning; the scope and limits of experience. The Possibility of Inquiry will be of interest to anyone interested in ancient epistemology, in ancient philosophy, or in epistemology.Trade ReviewGail Fine's excellent book is a rich and sophisticated examination of an ancient epistemological puzzle first stated in Plato's Meno . . . This book is an example of philosophically informed scholarship at its very best. It is essential reading for anyone with interests in any aspect of ancient epistemology. * David Bronstein, Mind *Table of Contents1: Introduction Part I: Plato's Meno 2: The Origins of the Problem 3: Meno's Questions and Socrates' Dilemma 4: Socrates' Three-Stage Reply: the First and Second Stages 5: The Third Stage: the Second Statement of The Theory of Recollection Part II: Aristotle and After 6: Aristotelian Inquiry 7: Epicurean Inquiry 8: Stoic Inquiry 9: Plutarch's Account 10: Sceptical inquiry: Sextus and the Stoics 11: Sceptical Inquiry: Sextus and the Epicureans Bibliography Index Locorum Index Nominum General Index
£31.49
Oxford University Press Scientific Testimony Its roles in science and
Book SynopsisThis book concerns the roles of scientific testimony in science and society. It argues that intra-scientific testimony is not in conflict with the spirit of science or an add-on to scientific practice, rather it is a vital part of science.Table of ContentsPreface Introduction PART I. Philosophical Foundations of Scientific Testimony 1: Testimony and the Scientific Enterprise 2: The Nature of Testimony PART II. Scientific Testimony within Science 3: Scientific Justification as the Basis of Scientific Testimony 4: Intra-Scientific Testimony PART III. Scientific Testimony in Society 5: Public Scientific Testimony I: Scientific Expert Testimony 6: Public Scientific Testimony II: Scientific Reporting PART IV. Scientific Testimony in Science and Society 7: The Significance of Scientific Testimony 8: Coda: Scientific Testimony, Cognitive Diversity, and Epistemic Injustice
£999.99
Oxford University Press Why We Doubt
Book SynopsisThis book, the first of its kind, puts forward a novel, unified cognitive account of skeptical doubt. Historically, most philosophers have tried to tackle this difficult topic by directly arguing that skeptical doubt is false. But N. Ángel Pinillos does something different. He begins by trying to uncover the hidden mental rule which, for better or worse, motivates our skeptical inclinations. He then gives an account of the broader cognitive purpose of having and applying this rule. Based on these ideas, he shows how we can give a new response to the traditional problem of global skepticism. He also argues that philosophical skepticism is not just something that comes up during philosophical reflection, as David Hume, Charles Sanders Peirce and other philosophers have urged. Instead, it is of great practical significance. The rule which produces skepticism may itself be operative in certain pathologies such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, in creative endeavors, and in conspiratorial tTrade ReviewPinillos gets serious about skeptical doubt as a psychological phenomenon, offering us a cognitive-scientific account of where it comes from... The book is a major contribution to empirically informed epistemology and a model for how to bring cognitive science to bear on traditional philosophical issues. * Matthew McGrath, Washington University in St. Louis *This [is a] really excellent monograph. I learned a ton from this book. It is remarkably deeply and broadly researched and meticulously argued. It covers so much ground-in both cognitive science and epistemology... * Branden Fitelson, Northeastern University *Table of ContentsIntroduction and Book Summary Part I: Skeptical Tension 1: The Need for an Explanation Part II: The Positive Account 2: The Skeptical Rule 3: Broad Function (Part 1) 4: Broad Function (Part 2) 5: Narrow Function Part III: Applications 6: Solving the Skeptical Paradox 7: Skepticism in Society 8: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder 9: Varieties of Doubt Part IB: Competing Views and Objections 10: Philosophically Accommodating Accounts 11: Psychological Accounts 12: Objections to Sensitivity Bibliography
£999.99
Oxford University Press Oxford Studies in Metaethics Volume 18
Book SynopsisOxford Studies in Metaethics is the only publication devoted exclusively to original philosophical work in the foundations of ethics. It provides an annual selection of much of the best new scholarship being done in the field. Its broad purview includes work being done at the intersections of ethical theory with metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind. The essays included in the series provide an excellent basis for understanding recent developments in the field; those who would like to acquaint themselves with the current state of play in metaethics would do well to start here.Table of ContentsList of Contributors Introduction 1: David Sobel and Steven Wall: The Objectivist Attempt to Appropriate Subjective Value 2: Claire Kirwin: Value Realism and Idiosyncrasy 3: Matthew Chrisman: Inferentialism as an Alternative to Expressivism 4: Jamie Fritz: Unfitting Absent Emotion 5: Thomas Schmidt: How Reasons Determine Moral Requirements 6: Alison Hills: The Normativity of Aesthetics 7: Antti Kauppinen: The Epistemic vs. The Practical 8: Elise Woodard: Epistemic Atonement 9: Eric Sampson: Moorean Arguments against the Error Theory: A Defense 10: Declan Smithies: The Problem of Morally Repugnant Beliefs
£68.40
